Flow meter



Patented July 11, 1939 y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLOW METER Miles Houser, Bluffton, Ind.

Application August 4, 1937, Serial No. 157,375

I-1 claim. 4(c1. 73-515) y r@he invention relates to flow meters for measuring quantities of liquid, such as gasoline.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple device that will accurately measure the quantity of ow of a liquid under pressure.

Another object is to provide a simple meter that will accurately measure the amount of gasoline consumed by a motor driven vehicle at all speeds, irrespective of 4pulsations in the pump that supplies the fuel to the motor and which offers little or no resistance tothe flow of the fuel.

The invention consists of the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section of a device embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fractional view ofthe conduit member.

Fig. 4 is a view of the inner cylinder rolled out to show the graduations thereon, and

Fig. 5 is a fractional view of a modiied form -of the conduit member.

Referring to the illustrative drawing the outer cylinder I is preferably formed of transparent material, such as glass, and its opposite ends are By tightening the nipples on the member, the

nipples engage the caps and clamp them firmly on the cylinder I, thus forming a compact unit and sealing the caps on the cylinder.

A vertical channel or conduit B is formed in the member 5 and leads from the upper endA thereof to a selected point below, at which point an opening 9.is formed in the member through which liquid, entering at the upper end of the conduit from the nipple 6, will discharge. A second vertical channel or conduit III is formed in the member 5 and leads from the upper end of the member to a selected point below, at which point an opening II formed in the memberj communicates with the conduit I and the interior of the cylinder I. The upper end of the conduit I0 is closed by a plug I2, and a sexies of apertures I3 is formed in the member 5, each aperture forming a communication/ between the conduitIIl and the exterior of the member.

A second transparent cylinder I4 is suitably mounted on the member 5, as by the cork gaskets I5, I6 which seal the opposite ends of the {cylinder I4 and pass through the apertures I3 into the conduit I0 and flow from said conduit through the opening I I into the cylinder I.

A third channel or conduit I8 is formed in the member and extends from the lower end of the member to a selected point below the discharge opening II at which point the conduit communicates with the interior of the cylinder. The liquid that passes into the cylinder from the conduit I0 discharges through the conduit I8 and the nipple 'I.

Instead of the apertures I3 in the member 5, I may substitute a slot I 9, Fig. 5, of suitable width that will communicate with the conduit IIJ.

In practice, the nipples 6, I will be connected to the fuel supply line between the pump and the ,carburetor so that all the fuel delivered by the pump will pass through the meter. The fuel enters through thegnipple 6 and flows down the conduit 8 and discharges into the chamber 20 formed by the cylinder I4. The level of the liquid rises in this chamber until it overflows through the lowest aperture, I3 into the conduit I0. The level of the liquid will rise in the chamber in accordance with the amount of liquid supplied to the carburetor, and more an'd more of the liquid will pass into the conduit as more of the apertures are reached by that level until the maximum demand of the motor is reached. The level of the liquid in the chamber 20 is read on the scale 2l that is suitably formed or mounted on the cylinder I4.

As shown in Fig. 4, a series of vertical columns of graduations 22, 23 is provided. The column 22 represents gallons per hour and each of the columns 23 represents miles per gallon. The

horizontal row of gures 24 represents the speedometer readings. The level of the liquid in the chamber 20 for any speed of the Vehicle may be read on the scale 23 above the indicia 24, reprerenting that speed and the miles per gallon of fuel noted, and at the same time. the scale 22 will indicate the rate per hour of fuel passing through the meter.

Since the cylinder I is sealed at both ends and the sealed cylinder I4 is vented at its'upper end the pressure in the two cylinders is balanced at all times. No pressure is consumed in operating the meter and practically' no resistance is oered to the flow of the liquid. Hence the pressure on the liquid remains the same while it is passing through the meter, making the device especially eicient on very low pressures where the liquid has a constant viscosity. A considerable varia'- tion in the pressure of the fuel in the feed line of the vehicle does not aiectthe reading provided that the pressure in the line is greater than atmospheric pressure.

In use on a motor vehicle the pulsation of the fuel pump does not affect the reading on the scale since the volume of liquid in the indicating chamber does not noticeably fluctuate.

The meter may be used for various purposes, the graduations on the scale being arranged to meet the requirements of the use, hence its application to a motor vehicle is but one of such uses,

What I claim is:

A flow meter comprising two transparent vertical cylinders one within the other, a carrier extending axially through both cylinders, means mounted on the carrier to close the opposite ends of the outer cylinder, channeled members revolubly mounted on the carrier and adapted to clamp the closure means on the outer cylinder, means to close the opposite ends of the inner cylinder, the upper one of said latter closures having vents therein, an inlet conduit ln the carrier communicating with the lower portion of the inner cylinder and with the upper one of the channeled members, a second conduit in the carrier having communication with both cylinders and through which liquid flowing into the inner cylinder, overows at a plurality of levels into the outer cylinder and discharges through the other channeled member and graduations on one of the cylinders to cooperate with various levels of liquid in the inner cylinder for indicatng quanti ties of liquid flowing through the meter.

MILES S. HOUSER. 

